Rural Life

Day 35 of lockdown - apologies for the delay!

So this is about an hour and a half later than my usual blogging time and for that I am sorry.  I got a piece of work away to a client so decided to celebrate by doing a bit of yoga.  I would like to say I feel a lot better for it, I am acutely aware of my calves, but the real test will be my ability to sleep without really weird dreams tonight.

I think I have mentioned that we were adopted by a bantam just before Christmas.  She is very pretty but quite unapproachable, so doesn't live with the four normal sized chickens.  Once we got to February, she started to lay eggs, little white ones.  The first clutch we found were in the shed, hidden behind an old jerrycan.  She laid one egg in the chicken coop when the others were out and about trashing the garden.  John set her up with a wheelbarrow and a grass collector from a dead lawnmower filled with straw which she used a couple of times.  What she doesn't like, is that when we find her stashes, we take the eggs.  She doesn't do sharing.

Since mid-March we haven't seen any of her eggs - we thought she might be laying them in a neighbouring garden.  It's a bit rough on us as we feed her and provide water, and as there aren't any bantam cockerels around, the eggs shouldn't do anything.  About 10 days ago, we stopped seeing her, other than an occasional and very loud visit once day - she had clearly got enough eggs to brood.  And she's not a nice broody either - if spotted by us or one of the other chickens she has an awful lot to say.  I don't speak chicken but I don't think any of it is polite.

Yesterday I was pottering in the shed when I spotted a bit of a mess.  On closer inspection, it was dried egg yolk and nearby there were egg shells and a couple of whole eggs.  There were also tins of wood stain and wood polish scattered around, which should be on the top shelf....

I looked up and around at some of the shelves, and finally I spotted her.  But I tried not to make eye contact, so that we know where she is for a while.  There is very little you can do about a broody chicken or bantam.

The other chickens are doing fine - here is a photo of two of them clearing weeds out of a raised bed.

 

Day 34 of lockdown - a rainy Sunday afternoon

They've been promising rain for days, if not a couple of weeks, but today it has finally happened - we've got rain.  At last!  It seems odd to be saying that after it rained seemingly nonstop between mid-October and the end of February, with floods and mud, and the ephemeral ponds filling up.  But it hasn't really rained since I started this blog 34 days ago and the soil is getting very dry, so it is welcome for once.

John managed to mow the lawn this morning in the two hour window when using power tools is not frowned on, while I sowed a hanging basket with a random packet of mixed flower seeds, and thinned out some sempervivums into a pot designed to fit on a downpipe.  I also sowed some radishes and thinned out the tomato seedlings - it felt profligate but we still have at least 19 tomato plants to find space for, as well as the 17 butternut squashes, 6 courgettes, and 19 (and counting) sweetcorn.  Since lunch we really have been locked down, and in my office all I can hear is the clicking of keyboards (mine and John's) and the blatter of rain on our roof and Velux.  I should probably be listening to Oxygène - that is ideal rain music! 

OK, that is now playing; that feels better!

For the photo montage today, I thought I would go through the photos I've taken during the week and then not used.  First off, here are some bluebells as a couple of chums have been taunting me with pictures of bluebell woods in the UK.

Then there is the wisteria I go past in the morning on my way to the boulangerie - I once worked with a chap near Peterborough who thought it was essential I was in the UK in May to see the wisteria.  I didn't like to say it grows just as well here!

When I was a child, I used to love honesty, less for the flowers and more for the seed pods that were such fun to play with.  The honesty is doing rather well this year - perhaps I will remember what it was I actually used to do with/to the pods back in the day.

Finally, after all the angst about the orchid bud and whether it would ever open or not, the other orchid has chosen to have two buds in a stage of imminentness, plus the first one has another bud that looks like it could open any time.  Plus both are finding new places to send out flower stems.  A daily bout of torture for me, to distract me from the copy of Private Eye in the bathroom.

 

Day 33 of lockdown - cats not obeying social distancing rules

I gather a couple of cats and a tiger have tested positive for Covid-19 which has set all sorts of hares running in different places.  I also saw wise words shared by Pauline Draisey, that as tigers can get Covid-19, you should stay 2 metres away from them.  All seems sensible, except that cats don't do social distancing, unless they want to.  The following Jackie-style photo story emphasises the point.

After self-isolating for a couple of weeks, Donald was tempted out of his lone state by John and the promise of soft food.  Once he had eaten his fill and waited to see if there was more and got into a staring competition he was never going to win with Spooky, he decided to join us by the vegetable plot.  Fergus was already there, guarding my leg.

Clause was slumped on a chair, having had an exhausting feed and use of the "facilities".  But Donald thought that chair looked nice - "room for a small one up there?"

When Clause didn't answer, Donald thought he would see if he could fit - "I'm sure I can fit in here!"

So he settled in - "yeah, I told you I could fit in here".

And finally - "thanks for sharing, let me clean your ears out".

I left them to it.

 

Day 32 of lockdown - reflections on mallard parenting skills

No storms last night, no rain here so far today (although I got caught in a very sharp shower), so shortly I'd better go and water the potted plants, but not before writing today's reflections.

As I said yesterday, I mow at a site with a lake.  Yesterday I saw one carp, today (finishing the job) I saw evidence of more, plus a heron, plus I got shouted at by frogs again.  I was also followed around by a couple of robins and a blackbird, profiting from all the bugs I was raising.

The little river that runs past has always played host to a number of moorhens, coots and mallards.  They raise a lot of chicks, but not all make it.  From what I observed today, I am starting to understand why.

There were two mallard families knocking around today.  A (presumably) single lady mallard with four puffs of fluff (ducklings), and a couple with a single duckling.  The single mother watched me and worked out what I was up to and while I was on one side of the lake, she hid her babies in a different stream or the river itself.  I heard the odd squeak from them but nothing more.

The couple were much less careful - they swam around side by side while their little munchkin followed as best it could, then it would appear daddy mallard said something wrong and the lady flew off.  Daddy and duckling continued to mooch around the lake, but in the end, daddy got bored and flew off too, leaving the lonely little fluff bundle swimming around the lake, cheeping for its Mum.  I think its Mum was a bit inexperienced, but unless she went back once I had gone, I suspect the little one will be eaten by something.  Probably not the carp, but I've heard rumours of catfish, pike and a terrapin in the lake, all of whom would like a duck supper I suspect.

 

Day 31 of lockdown - a change in the weather

There has been a bit of a change in the weather.  The last few days have been beautiful but with a tricky wind from the East, called the Bises, which means the air is clear as crystal, but it can be cold in the wind.  Today the wind has changed and is coming from the south/south west, bringing moist and hot air up from Spain and Portugal.  Insects love it.  I was checking over the broad beans and had to pick out all the growing tips as the ants were starting to farm black fly on the tender tops of the plants.  Fortunately all had more than four sets of flowers/set bean pods so it was the right time to do it.  The down side is that I've been feeling like I'm covered in ants ever since!

The warmer than usual spring is bringing on flowers and fruit more quickly than usual.  The lady orchid gets more splendid day by day!

I was working at the site with the lake this afternoon - the frogs were making a racket and the carp were loitering.  It isn't possible to get a good photo of the carp - I've been trying for years.  The best I can do is when they are in a group, being really sinister, and then the photos are the stuff of nightmares.  Anyway, I was actually checking the outflow from the lake and looking for tadpoles (mostly eaten now), when I realised I was being watched by one of the giant carp.  Probably between 18 and 24 inches long, he watched me until I spoke up (well squeaked in surprise) and then he sank away, probably chortling to himself.  He was here...

Our fig tree can have two crops, but most years, the early figs drop off due to a frost.  This year the tree is loaded and the tree seems to have decided to sacrifice some in order to keep a respectable number going.  In a normal year, any that survive late frosts are ripe in June, but the size of some of these makes me think that May might be possible this year!

Storms are due from about 11pm tonight - bizarrely, after one of the wettest winters, we need the rain!

 

Day 30 of lockdown - another Wednesday

It is Wednesday, so it is market day at la Flèche - another anxious drive up the road and a surprising amount of traffic.  Normally there are quite a few lorries, but today there were a lot, or so it felt.  There were also quite a few cars, but no police checks on the way or while queueing to enter the market square.  I was earlier, and the queue was just as long as last week but seemed to move through more quickly.  The lady in front of me thought that 4 metres was a good distance for social isolation!

Anyway, I was able to stock up on cheese, milk and butter, and I bought nice fish and chicken wings and got a good dollop of vegetables, so I felt that small cakes were my rascal's reward for my efforts!  Today there were more cars parked in the town, so I was by the river.  Le Loir is the little brother of la Loire further south, and to my mind rather prettier.  When she is in full flood, la Loire is majestic and huge, but in the summer, the river bed is full of sandbanks and the water takes up perhaps a third of the space.  She is also treacherous and deadly.  Le Loir seems to have a more stable flow and has many small, pretty towns and villages along it, with the occasional chateau, and a few weirs.  Here is the view at la Flèche.

On the 4th April (day 19 of lockdown) I wrote about setting seeds for the new growing season.  Well, some are coming up - 17 butternut squashes, a similar number of sweet corn and lots of Moneymaker tomatoes.  With very limited window sill space indoors, we are getting them used to the great outdoors already!

John pruned back the rambling rose on the side of the house that is on the road, but he did it a bit late, so there were a number of buds in the prunings.  We put them in a vase and now one is out already, and very beautiful it is too!

 

Day 29 of lockdown - but spring is still springing!

Last night the President addressed the nation and told us lockdown was extended to 11th May, and even then, things would not be back to normal straight away.  Restaurants and bars - such a key part of French life - will not be reopening then, although some schools might.  The borders remain closed.  So there are at least 27 more days of this - not sure how that makes me feel.  We've been doing OK so far, not least as we are still able to work, either remotely (when I do my UK work) or in isolation (when doing work in France in isolated gardens), and we are able to access nice food and drink.  But I am beginning to miss family - last year I seemed to spend every other day in Chinon until my brother arrived, at which point it was a day every week.  Not that I miss the A85 having said that!!  We also miss friends and the Friday night at the pub sessions will not be happening for a lot longer than four weeks it seems.

So human life is in limbo in many ways, and the days could start to resemble each other, until you pay attention to nature and how spring is carrying on regardless.  I had to feed the country cats today, so was able to admire the antics of a ginger cat in the sun with a nice, earth-filled hole.

Then there was the lovely surprise of a lilac bush I'd not seen before, flanked by a cherry tree and a hawthorn, both in full flower.

And then there was the chance to look closely at what we believe to be a lady orchid (still could be corrected on that one) as it gets towards peak perfection.

So really, in the scale of things, it is not all bad at all!

 

Day 28 of lockdown - apparently it's a bank holiday

Today it really is quiet.  Normally on Easter Monday we would be able to hear the funfair in Baugé Place de l'Europe, and would discuss whether we were going to go in to see the crowds and the market, and most years deciding that we won't.  But this year there is no choice.  So quiet, that even though it is a day to feed the cats in the country, we haven't dared to go out to do that!

This morning I did go out on an abortive attempt to buy croissants and baguette, not realising that our bakers are now closed on a Monday.  Still it did mean I got out for a short walk this morning.  It was grey and dull but not cold and I never really tire of this particular view.

There should be a photo of the road leading down to the pub and the lake but it doesn't seem to want to load today!  O wait, I've got it sorted!

We did useful things in the garden in the morning and then in the afternoon I finished sewing all the pieces together of the new cover for the pergola.  Now I have to think about how it is going to be attached to the frame and where I can get any necessary supplies from!

And I want to put in a picture of the full donut of the cover - so far it hasn't worked...  sixth time lucky!

The quince is now in full bloom which looks rather lovely.

And I am now fed up with fighting technology.  Enjoy the rest of your bank holiday!

 

Day 27 of lockdown - there's thunder in the air

Happy Easter to all - I hope the Easter Bunny was able to find a local elf to ensure you had some chocolate today!  Thanks for the messages about this blog too by the way - it really does help to know people are reading it, if only to keep me on my toes about fact checking and the like.

Although there are now storms rumbling around, this morning was lovely with not a cloud in the sky.  I have been surprised at how quickly the ounces are piling on (and after 27 days, ounces mount up) - I guess I didn't really realise how much good the long Sunday walk, the (in my dreams) weekly trip to swim at la Flèche and the Monday evening yoga sessions all did me.  Anyway, this morning I left John doing bad things to the artichokes that have taken over the potager, and went for my permitted up to 1 hour of solitary exercise no more than 1km from my front door.  Actually at the furthest point I fear I was actually 1.05km from my front door, but no one stopped me!

The following six photos are from my walk.  I want over the Couasnon twice and hoped to see kingfishers, but sadly no.  I did see swallows however - they arrived during the week and are now being delightful as only swallows can be.  I did see a couple of big trout in the stream, but no chance of getting a photo with my phone.  Coming back into the village, I noticed that the laburnum is now out, so shouldn't be surprised that my hay fever symptoms are starting to ramp up.  I do need to ration the antihistamines though as it will be a while before I can get more.

Anyway, enjoy the stroll in the quiet of the countryside!

 

Day 26 of lockdown - waiting for the Easter Bunny

Although I doubt he will put in an appearance here this year but we do still have 2 Cadbury's Crème Eggs saved in the fridge for tomorrow!

Saturday is market day in Baugé en Anjou and each week the market gets a bit bigger in size as the stall holders work out what is possible in the current restrictions.  I have to go to one shop as well to pick up my vital order of loose leaf Earl Grey tea - left at a shop for me by the owner of the tea rooms that are closed for the moment.  As you can imagine, it is a struggle to walk to the top of this road to get my order!

It is also a bind standing in a queue when you can admire our 15th Century chateau, built by good King René d'Anjou.

The orchid has now opened, and it was worth the wait.

Finally, I managed to get all the cutting done, and then set to with the old faithful Singer hand cranked sewing machine and have got four lots of two segments, and one lot of four segments, which I laid out on the lawn to see what they looked like.